Intergalactic
by Antarctic Sunset
Summary: In the middle of the Clone Wars, two padawans are sent on a diplomatic mission to convince the independent system of Kappa Aquarii's government to align with the Republic. As order 66 approaches, they will be entangled in the solving of an ancient intergalactic mystery while struggling to save their own galaxy from the dark force manipulating the war, and stumbling upon attachment
1. Drifting in Corrie

**Intergalactic**

 **Basic settings:**

 **Kappa Aquarii:** It is a planetary system consisting of its central star after which the system is named, a 0.8 sun masses greenish star recently entered in main phase, and 5 planets. KA.I and II are massive rocky planets of 2 and 2.5 Earth masses respectively, lacking any water and almost any oxygen, but very rich in heavy metals and other useful minerals. and IV are twin planets gravitationally entangled which rotate around a single common mass center in the middle of both. Both are approximately 1.1 earth masses and have huge amounts of water, their atmospheres primarily consist of 24% oxygen and 75% nitrogen, and traces of other gasses. is almost completely covered by a vast ocean, full of wild and huge marine animals, and is spotted by a vast number of small to medium size islands. Weather is very hot and rainy. , on the other hand, is a regular continental planet, with two continents north and south and small polar caps, with weather depending on the zone. Both planets are inhabited by the Aquarii civilization which consists mainly of regular humans, but in recent history there has been considerable immigration of Togruta and Mirialan population. KA.V is a small hydrogen gas giant planet just about 5 times bigger than earth, orbiting far away from its rocky companions and acting as a comet shield for them, which has given it many small moons and faint ice rings. The system itself is located at the "north" of the galaxy in the far outer rim, beyond Maltha Obex.

 **Aquarii civilization:** It is the ruling civilization of the Kappa Aquarii system. It is composed by humans (75%) Togrutas (15%) and Mirialans (10%). It is a constitutional monarchy ruled by a king or queen and a parliament, and several high, mid and low level ministers, like mayors and governors and the like. The king or queen inherits the crown from their parents, and the parliament is elected by vote. The throne has absolute power within the limits of the constitution but the parliament's president has ban power which he or she can exercise only followed by resigning the post. Other mid and low level posts are elected by vote or designated by throne's choice. The civilization's history begins some 25000 years BBY. It is believed that they split from the original human group that then colonized Coruscant. Approximately 3000 years BBY the system abandoned the use of money and switched to an almost totally self-contained economy, a situation favored by the enormous mineral deposits in the inner system planets and the almost infinite source of hydrogen from the gas giant. Although not using money anymore, the boost in production the optimization of resources translated in meant a production excess. The government decided to restart trading with the rest of the galaxy and using the resulting money to import anything they needed and to afford its citizens' expenses whenever they travelled abroad, although this was not very common since Aquarii people often found the rest of the galaxy to be a very harsh and selfish place. All this coupled with a cultural inclination of maintaining low population levels (50 million inhabitants in both planets) resulted in a blossoming small civilization, small in size, reach and population but enormous in terms of technology and investigation, as money was no more in the way of optimum resources administration and research. Always seen as a mysterious and eccentric place by the galactic community, some people got interested in their culture and in their appreciation for unobstructed progress, and this resulted in some population influx from the galaxy as mentioned before. The events depicted in this story begin in 20 BBY. The clone wars are 2/3 done. The Aquarii are not affiliated with either the republic or the separatists, but they are very conscious of the threat the latter mean to every system in the galaxy, including them.

 **His Grace, King Francis IX Arrowhead:** Human king of the Aquarii from 30 BBY. A man in his mid-thirties, showing the same interest in science and the progress of his people as many Aquarii rulers before. Assiduous physicist and aerospace engineer, a kind man if sometimes a bit arrogant. Married to Queen Veronica (Mirialan), one son and one daughter. He lives with his family in the royal palace, an enormous and luxurious castle-like installation in New Venice, the capital and largest city of the Aquarii, located on the southern continent in , 2 million inhabitants.

 **Aquarii Military Forces:** The Aquarii are not particularly prone to war, but they know very well the galaxy is far from being a peaceful place, and have exerted a great deal of force more than once through history when it has been necessary.

Navy: Consists of 3 "Exofortress" class dreadnoughts (8Km ships heavily armed with many turbolaser and MAC cannons, and a small nuclear arsenal), 80 "Narval" class star destroyers (1.6Km ships carrying smaller turbolasers and MACs), 20 "Barracuda" class heavy frigates (600m ships armed only with turbolasers) and some 7500 "Delta" class starfighters (30m delta wing shaped heavy fighters, pilot and copilot/gunner, turbolasers, heavy missiles and both frontal and rear high fire rate MACs), plus a variety of support and medical ships.

Army: The Aquarii army is comprised 100% of free men and women of all three species. The army is divided as follows:

 **Aquarii Army** — 3 Sector Armies (442,368 units) led by the king or queen as the commander in chief, and a senior marshal general.

 **Sector Army** —4 corps (147,456 units) led by a marshal general.

 **Corps** —4 legions (36,864 units) led by a marshal commander.

 **Legion/Brigade** —4 regiments (9,216 units) led by a senior commander.

 **Regiment** —4 battalions (2,304 units) led by a regimental commander.

 **Battalion** —4 companies (576 units) led by a battalion commander and major.

 **Company** —4 platoons (144 units) led by a captain.

 **Platoon** —4 squads (36 units) led by a lieutenant, second lieutenant, and sergeant-major.

 **Squad** —9 units led by a sergeant and corporal.

Additional to the regular corps, there were several special commando units, able to carry out several varied tasks.

Every soldier and officer is suited with a "Spec IV" combat suit, a completely sealed and EVA capable armor with a mix of duraplast, metallic and ceramic plating that could withstand heavy gas propelled projectile weapons fire and dissipate blaster fire over a greater area, significantly but not completely diminishing its burning effect. Its exoskeleton granted its user triple of his/her physical strength, but an added inertia of 60 Kg. Personal and aiming hud, friend or foe detection and short range comms. For weaponry, they use a variety of personal magnetic accelerated cannons or MACs, ranging from heavy pistols to long assault and sniper rifles, firing 100 grams ferrotungsten rounds at speeds ranging from 2 Km/s for the A-15 heavy pistol, through 8 Km/s for the A-25 assault rifle, to some 15 Km/s for the most potent A-200 sniper rifles. Additional support machine guns, antitank rockets, frag and thermal dets, droid poppers, and a variety of light and heavy walkers and artillery pieces. Many troopers are trained and equipped to enter the battlefield doing what is known as an orbital jump, which consists of entering a drop pod and being launched from a ship in orbit. This kind of entry has a 50 meter precision at landing time. This troopers are known as OJTs, or orbital jump troopers, and are trained as shock infantry.

SUMMARY:

In the middle of the Clone Wars, two padawans are sent on a diplomatic mission to convince the independent system of Kappa Aquarii's government to align with the republic against the CIS. As order 66 approaches, they will be entangled in the solving of an ancient intergalactic mystery while they struggle to save their own galaxy from the dark forces manipulating the war, deal with some unexpected (and some other not so unexpected) attachments, and fight alongside a totally new class of super soldiers. Ahsoka/Rex, Barriss/OC, Echo/OC, Fives/OC. AU. Barriss never even entertained the idea of bombing the temple (Of all the weak plots there were in Clone Wars, I think that was the lamest of all, destroying an awesome character in the process), Ahsoka didn't leave the Jedi order and Fives and Echo are still alive.

CHAPTER 1: Drifting in Corrie

 **Author's note: Hey there! So this is my first try ever at writing something, I hope you find this story enjoyable. I've had a couple beta readers who gave me quite valuable input, but I guess the story is far from perfect, so I'll really appreciate any comments you make ^^ Below there's a big section in _italics._ It is a remembrance. So, on to the story :D**

 **A/N 31-07-2016: Had to nerf the weight of the standard Aquarii round. Did the math for the original 300g round and it packed the amazing punch of a 9.6 Megajoules shot, sending a 150Kg target flying at the amazing speed of 16 meters per second if fired from the assault rifle and assuming the projectile got embedded in the target. Still, at 100g, it packs 3.2 Megajoules and sends said target to 5.33 m/s which is still considerable but more reasonable in a futuristic weapon.**

CORUSCANT, 1900, ONE MONTH BEFORE EXECUTION OF ORDER 66

Ahsoka was standing in a balcony, watching the sunset from one of the hundreds of levels of a huge GAR facility, lost in thought, chin resting on her hands. The star faded away slowly behind countless skyscrapers as thousands of speeders flew in every possible direction. She was so gone that not even her connection with the force helped her sense the arriving presence of a friend, the hum of the speeders ever so numbing.

"Good evening commander."

Ahsoka suddenly snapped back to reality, unable to hide her startled reaction. She was even blushing a bit in embarrassment, her montrals darkening a slight shade, although briefly.

"Wha… Oh! Rexter! You bad, stealthy boy!" She said, turning to look at the clone captain. "You shouldn't scare me like this! I was so lost in thought…" She mock reprimanded him and then smiled widely. Rex put a confused face, and then blushed himself.

"I'm…I'm so sorry ma'am, I just wanted to…Ummm, What I meant was…" Rex's exasperated and ashamed look only made Ahsoka smile wider.

"Hahaha, oh come on, Rex, you know it's just Ahsoka when we're talking in private. What was it you wanted to tell me, anyway?"

Rex relaxed a bit at this. "Yeah, right, sorry ma'am, I mean Ahsoka. I've been informed by the admiral that the Resolute should be fully rearmed and ready to depart in a couple of hours, and the legion has already replaced the missing personnel and finished all pending weapons maintenance. Everyone's ready to go" After he finished saying this, he started shifting uncomfortably on his boots.

"All right Rexie, thanks for the info…" She said while giving him a curious look "but I sense there's something else you haven't told me yet, what is it? Come on tell me."

Rex doubted a bit at first, but then took a deep breath. "There's this place me and the guys visit from time to time when we're stuck in Corrie for a while… It's called Valentino's and it's in the lower levels but it's actually very nice, and… I was wondering if you'd like… I mean…"

Ahsoka was all the time giving him a huge amused grin, and after watching him hesitate yet again, couldn't help it but let a bit of innocent laughter escape.

Rex felt words were getting harder to connect by the second and decided he'd better make an urgent retreat. "Oh never mind ma'am, I'll just go and see if…"

"Oh please Rexter, you're so funny sometimes… Actually most of the time," She said, rolling her big eyes "Of course I'd like to go with you" After saying this, she gave him a warm smile which made him startle a bit but he quickly recomposed his expression.

"Alright then, let's get moving. We still have two or three hours before we're all recalled into the ship; if we hurry, we'll even get to watch the live show!"

"Oh Rex, with show you don't mean…" Rex didn't understand at first, but then blushed furiously as realization hit.

"Oh, hell no! It's nothing like that, it's just music, come on we gotta go!"

At this Ahsoka giggled mischievously and Rex smiled in return. When they were heading to the main lift, Fives was coming towards them and looked at Rex directly in the eyes, intently asking for a sitrep, to which Rex subtly signaled 'All clear' and briefly smiled, so the ARC just returned the smile and went past them.

After a while, they arrived to a rather simple but warm looking restaurant on the lower levels. It consisted on a small stage in the front and several tables around. When they opened the door to enter, it hit a small bell that was hanging down the ceiling. Echo was sitting in one of the far side tables, deep in conversation with a very pretty blue skinned Twi'lek girl, both the ARC and the girl were leaning on each other in a rather loving way and when the door hit the bell, Echo turned to see who it was, and when he saw the couple entering the place, he dropped his jaw for a second and then turned away quickly, knowing it would be too awkward to acknowledge them.

The Twi'lek girl was very curious about it all. "Honey, what was all that? Who's that clone trooper with the Togruta girl?"

Echo was still very surprised "Lynn, those are Captain Rex and Commander Tano!"

She gave an unsurprised look "I guess there are also regs for them…"

"That's not the point, Lynn. Fives told me Rex wanted to ask her on a date, but we thought he wouldn't dare since, I mean, she's a Jedi! They aren't supposed to have 'attachments' or whatever they call it. Of course there are regs against that…"

"Well, if Togrutas are anything like we Twi'leks, she'll know how to treat him good, wouldn't she?"

Lynn had that mischievous look Echo couldn't resist, and he couldn't agree anymore. "I guess if things go well, he'll be almost as happy as I am with you"

She gave him a slightly melancholic look "I wish you didn't have to go again…"

Echo shrugged "Honey, let's enjoy while we can okay? I promise I'll be back in one piece" He smiled and stroked her left lekku while saying this, and with that, they melted in one passionate kiss.

Ahsoka and Rex took seats near the entrance, and then a service robot approached, passed them the menus and left. After a brief peek, Ahsoka had to admit she had never read the food items on the menu before.

"Well, Rexie, you'll have to help me out here… S-pa…-ghhh what? Maaa-ccaroni… All this things sound kinda similar to that Mando'a stuff you guys sometimes talk..."

Rex laughed a bit, knowing how confused she had to be. "Haha, well, I was just as lost when the guys brought me here at first too, but believe me, you'll love everything once you taste it. Try this" He said as he pointed to the item for spaghetti Bolognese and he chose béchamel lasagna for himself. Rex signaled the robot to take their order.

After taking two dishes each and a lot of chit chatter and laughter, a very happy orange Togruta girl and a satisfied clone captain were pleasantly sat at the table, deep in an enthusiastic conversation.

"Yeah, that time I thought I was dead. I don't know where those kriffin' commando droids came from, right when we had the left flank totally exposed, if it hadn't been for you…" Rex was remembering yet another time when they both saved each other's lives.

" _Captain! They're pushing hard against our left flank, we don't have enough men there, we're about to be overrun!" Shouted a desperate clone through comlinks._

" _The situation here is not any better, lieutenant! We are ordered to hold this position until commander Tano arrives with reinforcements. I'll send…" Rex couldn't finish the sentence. The shockwave from a thermal det sent him flying and knocked him hard against a concrete wall. His armor took most of the blast and the subsequent blow, and he didn't have time to be stunned. The moment he reopened his eyes, he just did it in time to be able to block a blade swing coming from a commando droid. He twisted the machine's arm and after knocking it down to the floor, he shot his deecee with his free hand right through the droid's head._

" _Watch out, captain!" He turned towards the direction where Fives' voice was coming, just to see the ARC aiming his smoking blaster to a falling commando droid which was also closing in to kill Rex. A perfect hole in the center of the droid's head, made by a deadly ARC. Then he noticed Fives immediately pointed his blaster to something behind him. He buckled down and rolled back to cover, just in time to avoid a huge red burst of droid blaster fire. Ten commando droids had just finished dispatching his brothers at the opposite end of the trench, and were getting ready to advance to the position fives and him were pinned down in. There was no escaping. Outside the trench, hundreds of B1's on open ground and no cover to run for. Inside, ten of the deadliest machines the seppies had built to kill clones. Rex thought that was it. He furiously charged against the droids and managed to shoot two of them with his twin pistols before feeling an excruciating burn in his chest and falling hard. He could see the smoke coming from two scorched holes on his right chest plate. Another two droids fell, victims of Fives' own twin blasters, but the remaining six sent Fives a huge and rapid discharge of fire, forcing him back to cover. One of them noticed Rex was still alive and aimed to finish him off. Then a strong shockwave came from the outside. The reassuring thunder of clone artillery reverberated through all the place as the sound of tinnies being disintegrated filled every corner with each blast. Then, almost instantly, the droid's head came off as a green slash flew past it. It was Ahsoka's lightsaber. She then jumped and landed on the inner wall of the room, just to jump again and cut the rest of the droids in halves in one clean slash. The two clones clad in white and yellow following Ahsoka didn't get a chance to fire their blasters. Outside on the battlefield, hundreds of brothers from the 212th attack battalion took over the place and forced the droid invaders to fall back. Rex was about to pass out. Ahsoka rushed to where Rex was laid down, removed his helmet and held his head in her arms._

" _Commander Cody! Rex has been shot down and is in need of urgent extraction, send a larty RIGHT NOW!" Ahsoka's urgent need to secure Rex a prompt evac couldn't be more visceral. After all, it was her captain, her companion, the man who always got her back and one of her closest friends._

" _Understood, commander Tano, help is on the way, hold tight" Ahsoka saw Rex's fading gaze and resisted the need to run her fingers through Rex's yellow dyed hair._

" _Rex, did you hear that? They're coming to help you, please stay with me, look at me Rex, that's an order, soldier!"_

 _Rex thought her beautiful blue eyes were the last thing he was going to see. He fixed his gaze on hers and was readying himself to embrace the darkness, when he spotted movement to the right. He unholstered his right deecee and shot madly to the upper half of one of the commando droids Ahsoka had just chopped off, before losing consciousness._

"I remember that one, Rexie, much too clearly. It was hard to go through the rest of that battle knowing you had been extracted unconscious. You lost a lot of blood that time…" Said Ahsoka, letting a worried expression escape for a moment.

"I'm just glad I was conscious enough to shoot that half commando before it shot first, Soka. It was aiming right at you" Rex's expression became grim for a moment after saying that.

"You've always got my back, cap'n" Ahsoka said, with a warm smile.

"Just as you've always got mine" Rex returned the smile. They were staring at each other. Rex was decided, he was going to take his shot right then. He was about to lean on and kiss her, when suddenly the lights dimmed and the band started playing. It was ballads night and the slow music resounded in Ahsoka's montrals as the disco ball flashed everywhere full of color. Several couples stood and began slowly spinning at the romantic music's pace. Echo and Lynn seemed particularly immersed at the far corner of the restaurant, their languid dancing sweet and slow and their embrace ever so strong.

"Rex, I love this kind of music! How did you know!?" Ahsoka's smile couldn't be wider.

"Err, to be honest, I didn't even know which band was going to play today…" Rex blushed visibly, not knowing if his answer was a good idea.

"Well, I love it anyway…" Ahsoka doubted a bit, but then she added "Wanna dance, Rex ol' boy?" This time, it was Ahsoka's turn to blush, her montrals' blue strips darkening a tone, her smile unsure and cute.

"Me? Dancing? Oh no way! I haven't done it ever before and…" He had no time to finish the sentence. A giggling 16 years old orange Togruta dragged him to the dancing hall and before he issued any further protest, positioned her arms around his ribcage and rested her right cheek on his left chest plate. He was unsure of what to do. He was a brave soldier on the battlefield but right then he couldn't feel more helpless. He spotted Echo who was signaling his own hands with his eyes. Rex observed his brother had his hands firmly clasped around the Twi'lek's slim waist. He finally decided to follow his brother's example and did the same. At first it was really awkward and cumbersome as he had no idea what he was doing, but after awhile, he finally grasped the pace and actually started to enjoy that "dancing stuff" quite a bit. After three or so more songs, he noticed Ahsoka had been taking deep breaths every once in awhile and every time she hugged him harder and closer. He felt this was his chance. He raised his right hand from Ahsoka's waist and grasped her chin, aligning her face with his. He stared deep in her soul.

"Soka…" it was an almost inaudible whisper.

"Rex…" her answer wasn't any stronger.

He was about to lean down and kiss her once again, when their wrist comlinks beeped.

"All hands, this is Admiral Yularen. All preparations for departure have been completed and you are ordered to get on board the Resolute immediately. Yularen out".

Echo went pass them, greeting them as "Captain Rex, sir. Commander Tano" and disappearing instantly. They could only be ever so startled.

Finally, Rex broke the silence. "Well, I guess we should get moving…"

"Uhh, yeah, Rexter". They exited the restaurant after Rex payed the bill, and left for the Resolute.

CORUSCANT, ON BOARD THE "RESOLUTE" VENATOR CLASS STAR DESTROYER, 0300, 29 DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION OF CONTINGENCY ORDER 66

Rex entered Torrent company's quarters and headed for his bunk. After removing his armor and body suit, he threw himself over the mattress, trying to sleep. He started thinking about his earlier time with Ahsoka, the laughs, the memories they shared, her sighs and his racing heart, how she could make him feel so safe on the battleground but so helpless in a tiny restaurant in the lower levels of Corrie. Clones were bred and trained to handle brutal situations and heavy attrition, but when it came to women, it was all trial and error. It wasn't like he couldn't read any of her signals or like he didn't have an idea of what to do, after all there were many brothers who had found a girl for themselves either among GAR support personnel or just among the civvies, but he lacked the charming and outgoing personality of guys like Fives or Echo and although General Skywalker and the very Ahsoka had taught him that rules and regs were to be broken as need be, he still preferred to face stuff by the book if at all possible and there were no manuals for women, let alone stubborn and reckless Togruta jedi teenagers and their hormones, so yeah, he was by all practical means feeling his way through this. After a while of this line of thinking, he realized he wasn't going to get any sleep so he got up again and headed for the gym with the intention of working his shebs off till exhaustion. To his surprise, when he entered the place, he found Ahsoka and commander Offee practicing their katas on the combat ring.

"I can't believe you've beaten me again Ahsoka!" Said Barriss in an indignant tone as her blue eyes focused on the backhand held green lightsaber pointed just centimeters away from her face, her own lightsaber lying on the floor, pulled away by a clever and fast move from Ahsoka.

"I've always told you, Barriss, dual lightsaber combat has its advantages… Oh, hi Rexter! Isn't it too early for you to be in the gym? I mean it's like 4:30 or something?"

"I… I just couldn't get to sleep, so I thought I'd rather use that time doing something else more useful. Commander Offee, it's nice to see you again after…" Rex was just about to mention the episode with the Geonosian worms, but Ahsoka saw his intentions and signaled Rex to cut it out. "Err, after such a long time" He tried not to seem disturbed by his unintentional almost-slip, his trials becoming just a very embarrassed smile, so Barriss understood very well what it was all about, especially after seeing Ahsoka's signs with the corner of her right eye.

"Don't worry Rex. I know that was a nasty event, but it was long ago now and I'm fully recovered, and by the way, it's just Barriss when we're not on the field" She gave him a shy smile, but that was enough for him to relax.

"Yeah Rex, Barriss is a friend, almost as by the book as you are, and she can be just as unintentionally funny…" Barriss rolled her eyes at her friend's description "So I think you two are going to get along during the mission."

"Is Barriss joining us in the final push into the sectors above Mandalore? I thought General Unduli and her 41st Elite Corps under Gree were assigned to Kashyyyk…"

"That is right, Rex, but I will not be with my master for the time being," pointed out Barriss, "as we, the three of us, will be assigned to a diplomatic mission in the Outer Rim." After seeing Rex's confused expression, Barriss added "Hadn't you told Rex?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I was informed at the same time as you Barriss, and I thought Rex ol' boy here would be sound asleep. Yularen will brief us about the details after the ship takes off during this morning. In the meantime, now that Rex is here, I think we could practice some hand to hand combat. Come up here Rexter..." Then she saw Rex's worried expression. "Ohh, Rex, Barriss doesn't exactly bite and we've done this thousands of times before," said Ahsoka with an amused tone. Barriss rolled her eyes, Rex blushed. "I promise I won't use the force… This time! And Barriss won't either, right Barriss?"

Ahsoka blinked an eye on Barris, who let a small giggle escape before saying "Of course I won't! Come up here Rex."

Both girls had a very mischievous expression and Rex was no fool, but he obliged nonetheless. "All right, all right. Something tells me this won't end well for me but whatever…"

They spent some more hours training hand to hand skills, and more than once Rex was denied victory by means of a few force pushes.

CORUSCANT, ON BOARD THE "RESOLUTE" VENATOR CLASS STAR DESTROYER, 0800, 29 DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION OF CONTINGENCY ORDER 66

The two padawans and the clone captain arrived to the ship's mess in loud laughter and conversation which made people turn to look. After receiving their morning rations, they sat at one of the hundreds of tables.

"I knew it wasn't gonna be fair on me!" said Rex in a mock offended tone.

"Oh, Rex, I'd be disappointed otherwise, you know how things are with me. I always win" She gave him a cocky smile and locked eyes with him. Barriss raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Rex didn't back away from her gaze. "Of course I do know, Soka…" He tried to return the smile, but then something caught his eye. "Hey, that guy sitting there is Echo, right? He looks quite worried… I'll go check on him, see what's on"

Ahsoka agreed with Rex. "Go, Rexie, see what's wrong with him."

After Rex left the table, Barriss couldn't resist her own curiosity. "Ahsoka. I've noticed you and the captain have grown… Closer, since the last time I saw you both, anyway. Care to tell me what's going on?" Barriss expression wasn't of disgust or sanction, but simply of worry for her dearest friend.

"What do you mean Barriss, we've always been close friends and we make a lot of fun from each other all the time, but it's nothing like what you're imagining!" Ahsoka was blushing tremendously, her blue lekku and montral stripes darkening to a point where they seemed more black than blue. Even her cheeks turned a darker tone of orange, almost red.

"Oh, Ahsoka! You should look at yourself right now! For me it's clear as glacial water… You feel something else for him… I sense… Love! Soka!"

At this, Ahsoka's eyes let a couple tears escape and she grabbed her friend's wrist with strength. "Please Barriss, don't tell anyone! He's a fine man, Barriss! I don't want him to be transferred away from his brothers he so dearly loves! And I'd die if I had to face this kriffin war without him! Yes Barriss, I have come to accept I love him some months ago, and what with that! The masters say love leads to fear and anger and the dark side, but you can't imagine the strength I've found inside ever since! Love has made me a better person, Barriss, it has given me one powerful reason to fight and walk out of the battlefield alive..."

Barris grabbed Ahsoka's hand, taking it away from her wrist and squeezing it gently while putting a finger across Ahsoka's lips. "Shhhh, Soka. How could you imagine I'd expose you like that! You're free to make your own choices. I have to warn you though, you're walking a dangerous path, but it's your path and no one else's."

Ahsoka couldn't believe she had master Luminara's padawan speaking like that in front of her. "Barriss… You definitely don't sound like your master…"

"Things happen in life, Ahsoka… My master is very severe, an authentic Mirialan master, but I've had many other friends, Soka, friends like you. I've come to see for myself… Have you told him? Does he feel the same towards you?"

"I… I can't believe the way you're talking, Barriss… No I haven't, and I don't know for sure, but I think we were really close to cross the line last night, only that we had some really timely interruptions…" Ahsoka sighed deeply and Barriss squeezed her hand in response, trying to comfort her.

"Your secret's safe with me, Soka," Barriss smiled at her friend, who smiled warmly in return "and for the way he looks at you and how he challenged you on the ring, I could easily bet he's on the same boat…" Ahsoka chuckled at this. "Oh, here he comes with Echo..."

Rex had been talking with Echo. Echo was upset because after spending a wonderful night with Lynn, she had a nervous attack at the prospect of Echo leaving once again for the battlefront and maybe not seeing him ever again. He'd managed to calm her down, but she stayed behind still very sad and their farewell was more than melancholic.

"Come on, vod. Cheer up. She's a tough girl if she's managed to stay loyal to you after all this years. She's a weapons maintenance specialist, right? Next time we're here in Corrie, I'll collect on some favors and have her transferred from the facilities to the ship's armory, how about that?"

Echo smiled at the prospect of having her on the Resolute. "Thanks, cap'n. I'd really appreciate that."

"Much better, now why don't you join me with Soka and her friend? Come have a little distraction."

They raised from the table and began walking towards Ahsoka and Barriss. Rex noticed a slight change of posture from the girls when they saw them approaching, and he observed Ahsoka's eyes were… Moist? and even slightly red… Something was on, definitely.

They sat together and he was about to ask them what the kriff was going on, when a voice sounded through the loudspeakers of all the ship.

"Five-oh-first legion, this is General Skywalker speaking. Welcome back home. I hope these two days leave helped you rest and heal your injuries. As I speak to you, the ship's taking off." Through the mess' windows, Coruscant's tall buildings began to fade away as the ship entered orbit around the planet, the rising sun even more brilliant. "We're headed to New Bornalex, where we'll kick what's left of the separatist forces' ass off the sector, and finish this war!" Thousands of clone voices shouted 'Bullah!' at unison, making the Resolute tremble. "Let's show them who rules this galaxy, boys! Let's show them what happens when they mess up with our people!" At this point, the clones were all shouting and cheering. "See you on the battlefield guys. Skywalker out"

Immediately after, Rex and Ahsoka's commlinks beeped. "Guys this is Anakin. I need you on the bridge right now. Take Barriss with you. Anakin out."

With that, the ship's hyperdrive roared to life, and took ten thousand souls up to hyperspace.


	2. Road to the King

ON BOARD THE "RESOLUTE" VENATOR CLASS STAR DESTROYER, EN ROUTE TO NEW BORNALEX, 0925, 29 DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION OF CONTINGENCY ORDER 66

Rex, Ahsoka and Barriss arrived to the ship's bridge. There, admiral Yularen and Anakin waited for them.

"Captain Rex, commander Tano. Commander Offee, welcome on board the Resolute." Admiral Yularen was a renowned navy officer, as well as a very formal man. "As you know, we're headed to New Bornalex to lend a hand to our troops on the siege there. We hope our increased numbers will be more than enough to wipe out the separatist garrison entrenched there. Nonetheless, we've identified a threat that could make this siege take longer than it could be desired…"

Then Anakin took the word. "Our listening posts ahead of the system spotted some unusual activity close to the border with the Kappa Aquarii system… Here." Anakin signaled an apparently empty spot in the galaxy map. "We sent scouts and they determined the enemy had a hidden shipyard and droid factory in one previously uncharted system." As Anakin spoke, a small star filled the previously empty space, with legends on the nature and size of the enemy forces stationed there "They are relying on it to produce enough reinforcements to send them to New Bornalex and hold the sector. We would launch a direct attack on the position, but our navy has been spread way too thin. We believe we could overwhelm New Bornalex defenses before they reinforce considerably and then launch an attack on this system, but it would take too long and we don't want to allow the enemy more valuable time to countermaneuver us."

"I see… So you want us to go convince the locals to launch an attack on them?" Asked Rex, signaling the neighbouring system of Kappa Aquarii, very aware of his limited diplomatic charms.

"Not quite, captain, not you." Answered Yularen. "We have senator Bail Organa on board. He will deal with the diplomatics. Of course his safety is of our highest concern, and that's why we need you. Captain, please take 2 of your finest men. With them and the commanders here, you will supplement the senate guardsmen on his security detail. If the senator succeeds on his mission, you will then coordinate the attack with the Aquarii forces. Once we arrive to New Bornalex, you will take one of the shuttles and head to the system. Commander Tano, you will lead the mission. Any questions, ladies, gentlemen?" As no one asked anything, the admiral dismissed them and ended the briefing.

10 Hours later, after arriving to New Bornalex, the ship was at its loudest. The landing sequence was half completed and the legion was preparing to disembark. Clones were rushing here and there as tons of ammo crates and warfare equipment were being put on the right places for rapid deployment onland. Rex had chosen Echo and Fives, his two finest ARC troopers, for the mission. The three clones arrived to the hangar bay, where the jedi padawans and the senator were waiting for them alongside a senatorial guard squad.

"I assume you are the renowned Captain Rex of Torrent company" Said senator Bail Organa gently as he extended a hand to the clone in front of him. "I'm glad to have you as part of this mission, captain. I insisted to your admiral that the senate guards would do, but he just wouldn't allow it".

"Admiral Yularen tends to plan everything to the detail, sir. We'll give our best to protect you." Said Rex while shaking the senator's hand.

"I'm sure you will. This is Lieutenant Sartorius, he is the commanding officer of the senate guard squad. You should go and arrange with him everything needed…" Said the senator while pointing towards a blue armored male, but was gently interrupted by Rex.

"Oh, excuse me sir, but I'm not commanding this mission. That would be commander Tano here". Rex introduced Ahsoka to the senator, who remembered she was Anakin Skywalker's padawan and good friends with his friend and colleague, senator Padmé Amidala. Ahsoka thought that it was very out of character for a prominent pacifist senator to go talk to a neutral system's king and try to convince him of going to war. The mission party boarded the shuttle that was designated for the mission previously and after everyone got acquaintances with each other, fives took the pilot seat and before knowing it, they were drifting through the hyperspace, the hyperdrive a reassuring soft hum on the background.

"Senator Organa, I was wondering…" Ahsoka needed to ask, trying to be as cautious as her daring nature permitted her "You are one of the biggest opposers of this war. You voted with senator Amidala and several others against fighting the enemy on the battlefield. Why did you accept to try and convince a neutral system to rally to our cause?"

The senator wasn't at all uneasy with Ahsoka's questioning. "Young Ahsoka. I'd rather not be here, that's clear. I would have sat with the leaders of the confederation and try to talk this out rather than sending millions of innocent men to their deaths," He sweeped the ship's interiors with his head, observing each of the clones and senate guards without their helmets on, bonding and behaving like loud teenagers and having silly competitions "but I also believe in democracy and the senate voted for war. Now I'm no fool, I know the corruption that cooks every day within the senate walls, but there are also many honest people there doing their best, and my duty is with Alderaan and every other republic citizen. I know the Aquarii can help us a great deal in finishing this war sooner, and then sending all this men home."

At this, Ahsoka couldn't help but look at Rex. He was in a loud conversation with lieutenant Sartorius, laughing and defying each other to an arm wrestle. Even Barriss started to mix within the group and was starting to laugh at the guys' rough jokes. The oldest of the senatorial guardsmen didn't seem to be older than 26, and no clone on board was older than 12, at least not chronologically and certainly not mentally. She portrayed a life with Rex away from all this war, in some outer rim hidden haven… No, she couldn't. They were soldiers and that kind of life wasn't meant for soldiers like Rex or her. Maybe they could love each other, but they couldn't abandon their ranks and their people, they owed them everything…

The senator continued, as Ahsoka partly listened. "Besides, chancellor Palpatine was very insistent. He knows I'm acquaintances with the king. My wife is the queen of Alderaan, after all… He knows the king will listen to me."

At the mention of the chancellor, Ahsoka felt a chill run down her back. The jedi council suspected for a while now that something was off with the chancellor, but they just couldn't figure out what, and every mission commissioned by the chancellor seemed to always go wrong.

"You are right, senator. I hope this war ends soon. Enough lives have been sacrificed, now if you'll excuse me…"

Ahsoka went to look for Rex, who was on a tie with the lieutenant.

"Rex, I need to talk to you, now."

"Can it wait a bit Soka? I'm about to win a round in the canteen for the boys… Ahhh, Sartorius, is that all you got? Now you'll see!" Rex began pushing hard the lieutenant's hand, his grin at its cockiest, but then the lieutenant responded stronger than Rex expected, grinning himself, and the tie was even more evident.

"Attention!" For a 16 years old girl, Ahsoka's voice sounded quite commanding. Immediately, both clones and senate guards sprang to attention, stomping their feet to the ground in perfect unison. "Now that's better, boys. Stand at ease. Rex, come to the cockpit with me, now." The men relaxed at the 'at ease' command, but remained silent as the captain and the commander walked through them to the cockpit. After arriving to the cockpit, Ahsoka closed the slide door shut.

"Soka… I'm sorry. I should have listened to you immediately, I…"

"Don't worry Rex… I know it's sometimes difficult to remember we are captain and commander, and not just, you know… friends…" Ahsoka's blue strips darkened a tone "But listen to me, Rex. I was talking to the senator, he told me this mission was a direct petition from the chancellor and you know better than me how those missions end. I got a really bad feeling about this, Rexie, I can feel it through the force. I just wish I knew what it is, but something's not right. Put the men on alert, I'll stay here in the cockpit with fives, please send Barriss in, I'll discuss additional security measures with her"

"Alright, Soka, I've always trusted your instincts"

Rex went to the ship's cabin, and after sending Barriss into the cockpit, commanded the men to stop their chatting and put their gear back on.

ONBOARD SHUTTLE 025, KAPPA AQUARII SYSTEM, 0400, 28 DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION OF CONTINGENCY ORDER 66

"Ten seconds to arrival, commander, hang on… That's it, we arrived" Fives turned the sublight engines on as the nav computer disengaged the hyperdrive. "Oh, we're already being hailed by an Aquarii cruiser, the 'Commendator'... Their captain is awaiting on channel two"

"Patch them in, Fives." Fives did as Ahsoka ordered, and a human male not older than 24 appeared onscreen, clad in full white dress uniform.

"Greetings from the Aquarii navy. This is captain Anthony Koos, navy's Alpha group. To whom do I speak?"

"This is jedi commander Tano from the Grand Army of the Republic. We come in a diplomatic mission, senator Bail Organa is onboard this shuttle."

"Wait a moment, commander, we're validating your credentials… Ok, you can proceed to our port hangar bay. We'll take you to New Venice afterwards. Koos out"

Captain Anthony Koos was among the finest of the Aquarii military. Member of the navy's Alpha group, he was exceptionally trained in hand to hand combat and survival in harsh environments, and had much better tactic skills than any regular captain of the army or the navy. He was the commanding officer of the Commendator, one of the 20 barracuda class heavy frigates of the navy, and captain of Apollo company, a special company made up only of Alpha group soldiers. Although in general, the Aquarii philosophy preferred to avoid violence if possible, he as a military man found peace periods rather boring, and he almost hoped senator Organa to convince the king to attack that CIS installation just outside the system. He remembered the stories his grandfather used to tell him about when the Aquarii forces freed up several Mirialan and Togruta colonies in quadrant M3 from the Zygerrian slave empire a couple centuries ago. He just wished…

"Captain! We've got a hyperspace disruption portside! There are 15 CIS star destroyers... No, make it 18, entering from hyperspace! They are in attack formation and approaching the republic shuttle!"

"XO, sound the alarm, establish comlinks with the rest of the fleet, power up the turbolasers!" It seemed to the captain that war had knocked their door a bit too unexpectedly. He then took the ship speakers' microphone. "All hands, gear up now and man your stations, we've got 18 unfriendlies incoming from portside. All delta fighter pilots and gunners, stand by your ships and wait for further orders!"

At the moment, there were only 12 Aquarii star destroyers and a handful of frigates guarding and IV, but they all went to meet the enemy nonetheless.

"Sir, the closest CIS ship is using its tractor beam on the republic shuttle." Shouted the officer in the sensor station. Then Admiral Konstant appeared on one of the screens.

"All ships, attack formation, fire at will, let's break their lines, you know how this goes, this is what we trained for all of our lives. Captain Koos, admiral Martinez, engage the ship that kidnapped our guests but do NOT destroy it. Do try to disable their hyperdrive, but your main mission is rescuing senator Organa and his team. Do not disappoint our king. Konstant out."

"You heard him boys! All thrusters at maximum, let's block their prow while Admiral Martinez crushes their engines with his ship's MACs. All batteries, fire at will!" The XO repeated the captain's orders to the pilots and the ship began to position in front of the enemy ship's prow to avoid it to flee into hyperspace.

Captain Koos then spoke to his XO. "Lieutenant Burke, I'll assemble a rescuing party with my Alpha group boys, you have the ship."

"Captain, we have 18 CIS destroyers incoming from hyperspace, starboardside!" Fives knew an attack like this was very unlikely, so deep in the outer rim and in neutral territory, defying the Aquarii fleet's considerable firepower at their very home, so his surprise was evident.

"Thrusters at maximum, Fives, don't let them grab us with their tractor beam!"

Just as Rex ended speaking, the shuttle shaked violently and stopped way too abruptly, smashing some troopers standing near a wall and making the rest trip or fall. Then the ship started being pulled back to one of the CIS star destroyers' hangar despite having its thrusters at full power. Then captain Koos reappeared onscreen, although this time he was in some kind of combat armor.

"Republic crew, this is captain Koos. They clearly want you alive, I assembled a rescuing party with my Alpha Group boys, but you must avoid being captured by the enemy, at all cost! I'm sending you my comlink codes so we can coord... our t...s. Hang in th… we… for you! We…"

And then the transmission cut.

"They jammed the ship's comms! Fives, did you get the captain's code?" Said Rex, impatiently.

"Yes sir! It's a highly encrypted channel, they won't be able to jam it"

"Very good. Ahsoka, we need a plan"

"I'm thinking Rex!"

Meanwhile, Barriss was meditating. Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"I have a plan. The enemy thinks the senator's escort is only comprised of senate guards. I felt it through the force."

"Are you sure, Barriss?" Asked Ahsoka raising an eyebrow.

"I absolutely am"

Barriss told Ahsoka her plan, who reacted rather surprised.

"Barriss, that's such a crazy plan! And coming from you!... But it might work... What do you think, Rex?"

"I think it could work, I mean, we've done crazier shit with the general, we should give it a go"

Lieutenant Sartorius agreed, too. "My men also think it could work. We didn't train to become damn prisoners of war, much less droid meat, let's do this"

As the shuttle approached the enemy's hangar and the spaceship battle outside was escalating with each second, men in blue and men in white prepped their weapons as two young padawans meditated to further strengthen their connection with the force.


End file.
